


Grieving Frenemy

by sardonyx164



Series: Operation Care (Chad Arranges Recovery Episode) [2]
Category: Codename: Kids Next Door
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Homesickness, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Loneliness, Screenplay/Script Format, Silent Protagonist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:42:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25655341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sardonyx164/pseuds/sardonyx164
Summary: Nigel starts feeling extremely homesick.
Relationships: Nigel Uno & Chad Dickson
Series: Operation Care (Chad Arranges Recovery Episode) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859455
Kudos: 4





	Grieving Frenemy

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently, Ness isn't the only kid hero who gets homesick.
> 
> ...How appropriate, huh? 
> 
> (Is this another theme that I accidentally/subconsciously put in? Yes, yes it is. And now I want the canon universe to be like the Mother series, complete with an alien that gets defeated by love/prayers/music.)
> 
> Oh, and apparently, a real problem with inpatient wards is that the patients have nothing to do. That, and they don't feel at home. At least this place has the right idea:  
> https://www.camheleon.org/colourful-themes/leisure-and-therapeutic-activity-summary/leisure-and-therapeutic-activity/

_[Scene: the Galactic Kids Next Door inpatient ward. Chad and Nigel have just walked into a break room; the room has tables, couches, rocking chairs, boxes full of toys and games, and bookshelves that are filled with various types of books. Nigel looks around at all the stuff inside the room with amazement and joy...]_

**Nigel:** (Wow...this room is--) [he wobbles a bit] (--something else...!)

_[...but his weakened state ends up interrupting his joyful thoughts. Chad puts his hand on Nigel’s shoulder to keep the younger boy from falling, which makes Nigel even less happy]_

**Nigel:** (I wish this teenager would stop patronizing me like this...)

 **Chad:** [gently] Hey, careful, kid. I don’t want you to fall. [squeezing Nigel’s shoulder] So, anyway, this is the break room. You can read books, you can play with toys...you can even eat here, if you want. [chuckling] See, I told you that you wouldn’t get bored here!

 **Nigel:** [slowly clenching his fists] (Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, teenager.)

 **Chad:** [confused/worried] Huh? [squeezing Nigel’s shoulder again] Um, this is probably a stupid question to ask, but...[he kneels down to Nigel’s level]...are you alright?

 **Nigel** : [glaring at Chad] (Teenager, do you _seriously_ believe that I would be feeling alright after my _horrible training session_?! You being my nurse isn’t helping, either!)

 **Chad:.**..I’ll take your angry look as a ‘no’, then. [clearing his throat] But, um, in all fairness, that _was_ a pretty stupid question, huh?

 **Nigel:** (You think?)

 **Chad** : [gently] Hmm, tell you what. I’ll go get you a bowl of potato chips, okay? You’re probably _starving_ right now, aren’t you?

 **Nigel** : [perking up] (Potato chips...?)

 **Chad:** Yeah, I thought so. The look on your face says it all. Um, but before I go get your snack, can you do something for me?

_[Chad gestures to a table which has a lot of tumbled gemstones and a few empty bowls sitting on it]_

**Chad:** You see the table with all of those rocks? I want you to walk over there by yourself. [taking his hand off of Nigel’s shoulder] Can you do that?

 **Nigel:** [rolling his eyes] (Of _course_ I can. Just _watch_ me.)

_[Nigel carefully walks over to the table that Chad was referring to. Nigel wobbles a bit, but he manages to keep himself balanced and seat himself at the table without falling over. Nigel takes a moment to catch his breath as he looks over at Chad, who is winking at him as if to say “Nice job”]_

**Chad:** Alright. Now if you’ll excuse me... I have to go get your snack.

_[Chad leaves the room. Nigel turns his head back to the table, takes a few moments to look at all of the gemstones that are sitting in front of him...]_

**Nigel:** (The sheer disorganization on this table is _unacceptable_. I have to do something about this.)

_[...and then he starts organizing the rocks by colour, which quickly calms him down]_

**Nigel:** [sighing happily] (Chad has been so nice to me...he’s shown more kindness in one _day_ than Numbuh Nominal has shown in one _hour._..) [he starts tearing up, but he shakes his head and rubs his eyes] (No, Nigel! You can’t cry! Numbuh Nominal specifically told you that galactic operatives are _not allowed to cry_!)

_[Nigel takes a deep breath and continues to sort the gemstones by colour. When he’s done, he looks over his finished work proudly...however, he finds himself tearing up again when he sees how he arranged the gemstones: the light blue stones are organized to look like a 2, the green stones are organized to look like a 3, the orange stones form a 4, and the dark blue stones form a 5]_

**Nigel:** (Hoagie, Kuki, Wally... _Abby_...!) [he blinks back tears] (Stop it, Nigel! _Stop crying_! You’re supposed to be tough...!)

_[Nigel carefully gets up and walks over to a couch. He quickly sits down on said couch and starts hugging one of the pillows as he tries to compose himself]_

**Nigel:** (Keep it together, Nigel. How would Chad react if he saw you cry...?)

_[Nigel buries his face into the pillow and tries even harder to stop himself from crying. After a few moments, Nigel feels himself being pulled into a gentle hug]_

**Chad:** [softly] Hey, kid. I...saw how you organized those gemstones. You, uh, miss your friends a lot, don’t you? [giving Nigel a squeeze] Yeah, that’s understandable. You’re also under a lot of stress, too, which certainly isn’t helping. [giving Nigel another squeeze] Um, I just want to say that if you need to cry, then go ahead and cry. I’ll be right here for you.

_[After a brief moment of hesitation, Nigel wraps his arms around Chad’s waist and starts sobbing into the older boy’s chest]_

**Chad:** [rubbing Nigel’s back] Yeah, there you go. You’re doing great. [gently rocking Nigel] I’ll always be here for you if...[tearing up]...you need someone to talk to, okay? [holding Nigel tightly] You’re not alone anymore...

_[Nigel gives Chad a tight squeeze]_

**Chad:** [patting Nigel’s back] Ssh, ssh...you’ll be okay, I promise.

_[Cut to: a few minutes later. Nigel has stopped crying, but he’s still hiccupping a bit. Chad reluctantly pulls away from the hug, puts his hands on Nigel’s shoulders, and gives the younger boy a serious look]_

**Chad:** Hey. Listen to me, Nigel. You have to realize that it’s alright to cry. It’s alright to be sad and angry. [smiling warmly] And it’s alright if you want to hug me, or if you want _me_ to hug _you_. I’m here to take care of you, after all.

 **Nigel:** [returning the smile] (Oh, Chad...)

 **Chad:** [gently taking Nigel’s hands] That reminds me...it’s snack time, isn’t it? You need to go eat your potato chips. [squeezing Nigel’s hands] And afterwards, we’ll go have ourselves a nice walk around the inpatient ward. What do you say?

 **Nigel** : [nodding] (Sure thing, old friend.)

End

**Author's Note:**

> Nigel Uno isn't going to have a fun time with the Galactic Kids Next Door.
> 
> I don't exactly mean the horrible training sessions (although there's the possibility that horrible training sessions are just a normal thing for galactic operatives)...I'm talking about more realistic/adult fears.
> 
> Think about it...  
> \--Nigel doesn't have a healthy social network; his family and friends are gone.  
> \--His girlfriend broke up with him for something that he believes was his fault.  
> \--Going by his cold behaviour in the 2015 trailer, there's a high chance that his mentors taught him that compassion and sadness were worthless. Anybody who was forced to repress their emotions will know what this is like.  
> \--And finally, he's just a child. 
> 
> Oh, and one more thing: the canon universe has applied reality to a few episodes (Chad's a good guy, but Nigel is still heartbroken/angry, Sector V failed too many times at cake collection and are forced to give that task to another sector, and so on). Make of that what you will.
> 
> Side note:  
> Don't play Phil Collins' "You'll Be in My Heart" when you're reading this story. Just don't. Unless you like crying...
> 
> -Related fanart:  
> https://luci-moon.tumblr.com/post/630195635339018240  
> https://teen-ninjas.tumblr.com/post/183547298131/drama-king
> 
> -Related links:  
> https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-crying  
> https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319631


End file.
